On June 27, the Belt and Road Film Week officially concluded with the final screenings in the Yangtze River Delta as part of the 27th Shanghai International Film Festival. Held under the theme “Travel with Films”, the event leveraged Shanghai’s global cultural influence and Pudong’s role as a strategic hub to achieve a transformation from a cultural celebration to an industrial cluster. Beyond screening a wide range of films from Belt and Road partner countries, the Film Week also featured international filmmaker exchanges, cultural industry forums, and tourism-integrated cinema experiences, strengthening Pudong’s position as a global hub for cultural exchange.
This year’s film week not only spotlighted the cinematic artistry of countries often overlooked in Western-centric film histories, but also gave voice to their local knowledge systems and cultural identity quests. From Malaysia to Türkiye, films from diverse geographies stepped outside Western narrative conventions to revive cinema’s inherent sense of wonder and aesthetic richness.
The Tears of Kuala Lumpur by Malaysian director Ridwan Saidi portrayed the multicultural fabric of the city with layered imagery, delivered in an experimental visual style that resembled an intricate tapestry. Characters from different ethnic and religious backgrounds connected through fleeting encounters across the city, which itself became the true protagonist. Such works demonstrate how the Belt and Road Initiative not only fosters cultural production, but also encourages us to reimagine the universal relevance of local stories.